Departments & Programs

Environmental Science

Introduction

The B.S. in Environmental Science (B.S.E.S.) is a joint degree program between the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. The interdisciplinary B.S.E.S. program considers the environment as a scientific entity. Students preparing for professional employment or graduate study in environmental science or in one of the traditional sciences should consider this degree.

While it is possible to divide environmental science into numerous subdisciplines or systems such as the atmosphere, the biosphere, the hydrosphere, and the lithosphere, these subsystems are interdependent components of a single large system. It follows that the problems encountered in the environmental sciences are inherently interdisciplinary; hence, a scientist working in this field is required to possess both a breadth of knowledge and a specific set of skills and expertise. The overall organization of the B.S.E.S. degree program reflects this philosophy with a broad core curriculum, a concentration area, and a senior research project providing advanced hands-on experience. The B.S.E.S. degree program is intended to instill an appreciation of the integrated nature of the discipline and supply a level of expertise in one area. Recognition of these areas of expertise comes in the form of a concentration designation (General, Atmospheric Science, Ecosystem Science, Hydrology and Water Resources, Mathematical Modeling, Surficial Processes, or Pollution Control Technologies and Remediation).